Huawei Ascend W1 to be released in Germany this month?

Huawei's Ascend W1 is believed to be heading to Germany this month, with reports over on WPArea suggesting the Windows Phone could be released as soon as next week (with retailer Conrad stating such a date). As a Windows Phone 8 solution, the W1 would offer German consumers a new option, one which would be aggressively priced against competition.

The smartphone is already listed on German online retail websites (with a price tag of around €199.95), but no accurate date of arrival has yet been unveiled. Available in both black and blue, the Windows Phone may prove to be a popular choice with the retail pricing and fact it's a Windows Phone 8 smartphone.

To serve as a reminder, what's packed inside the Ascend W1? It sports a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 1950mAh battery, 4" (800x480) display, 512MB of RAM, 5 MP camera, and 4GB storage (expandable to 32GB with a micro SD card), making the Windows Phone an attractive entry level smartphone. The added SD support will ensure owners can pack the device full of music and other media.

We'll look forward to see Huawei push the device across Europe, Asia and beyond. The company has had a rough journey to get to this point, and many believed we wouldn't see Huawei hardware running Windows Phone outside select markets, but it we could well be witnessing the birth of a fourth partnership between Microsoft and a mobile phone manufacturer.

It's uncertain how the Ascend W1 will perform, especially with rival hardware launched by Nokia, HTC and Samsung to contend with. Since Huawei is still relatively new to the Windows Phone game, we'll give them the opportunity to show just what the company plans to do regarding marketing, OEM apps, updates and support.

Reader comments

Huawei Ascend W1 to be released in Germany this month?

I've read reports about Huawei being accused of spying for the Chinese government from my senators, due to word of mouth saying Huawei is part of the Chinese government. Huawei has said they're not spying, but I really can't tell which lips the truth speaketh. If someone can shed some truth, help me out.

The US Dept. of Defense has stated that Huawei is a threat to the security of the United States. Eric Schmidt says basically the same thing. With so many phones available, why would any American even consider buying a Huawei product? Boycott Huaweii and stop blogging about them!

The truth is everyone is spying on everyone else so just relax.
Google, given half a chance, would stick their fist so far up you they'd make you talk like a puppet.
And to be honest, think for a minute. What exactly could the Chinese government do with your porn preferences, Facebook password and Angry Birds high score? I mean really, they're evil and all but what would they really be doing with it? Nothing that scares me too much.

Huawei spies for the Chinese government which steals from US defense companies and US businesses. Make an effort to find out what Huawei business is. They are new to the mobile phone business. They are huge with business communications.

Do you really not appreciate the difference between hacking a phone app and espionage from a hostile foreign country?

Sure, for the trivial stuff, but i am locked down for the important stuff. Yes, even on my phone, Sunshine. I can't stand people that use the argument that spying is OK since everyone else is doing it. Grow a spine and a pair of manlies and stop being so defeatist.

Sorry, wpcentral, but after this post I really doubt about your seriousness. First of all the mentioned source from Germany writes a wrong date about the release as you could check with one visit at conrad. But what is more important, this named source is totally unserious. For example since two days you can buy the Nokia Lumia 620 in Germany and they did not report about it, Lumia 920 Portico-Update since a few days for all user underway: no word about it, really strange what sources you trust.

In the February 2013 copy of the UK's O2 ctatlogue, it says that the Huawei W1 is "coming soon" as well, though the website makes no mention of this. Hopefully it's quick to market - a bit of competition for the lower end (which the Lumia 620 seems intent on taking) would be nice.